There are many occasions in which a golfer wishes to replace the grip on one or more of his golf clubs. For instance, if the grip on a favorite club becomes worn, he may wish to provide it with a new grip instead of buying a new club. On some occasions, he may be convinced that his old grip has the wrong shape or material and he wishes to use the same golf club with another grip. Even during the sale of a new set of clubs, the purchaser may desire a certain make or model of club, but may wish to have a grip of a different manufacturer on that club. Also, the customer may wish the grip to be larger or smaller to fit his hand; in such case, the adjustment is made by use of layers of tape between the shaft and the grip. In all of these cases, it is necessary to remove the grip and replace it. Unfortunately, in the past this has been a difficult procedure. The first problem that one encounters is the removal of the old grip. While this can be accomplished by simply slitting the old grip axially with a razor and then peeling the remainder away from the golf club shaft, such a procedure has the disadvantage that it destroys the grip. Obviously, in the case of a new golf club, the destruction of the new grip is an economic loss which must be passed on the purchaser. Furthermore, even old golf grips have some resale value, since a well-made grip is an expensive element of the golf club. Although the adhesive tape locking a grip to its club shaft is soluble, in the past professional golf shops have attempted to peel the grip off without damaging it, but this has always been a very difficult procedure to carry out. The second difficulty lies in the application of the new grip. Although there is a standard outside diameter for golf club shafts and a standard internal diameter for grips, it is difficult to insert the large diameter shaft into a small diameter grip particularly where various layers of tape are used. Furthermore it is necessary that the resilience of the rubber-like grip be used to clamp the grip firmly on the shaft of the golf club. This means, that, even if the shaft and tape is of small diameter and would fit neatly into the opening in the grip, it is necessary to build up the diameter of the shaft with tape, so that the ultimate fit of the grip is very tight. In either case (whether large diameter shaft or shaft that has been built up with tape) it is almost impossible to insert the shaft into the grip with damaging the grip. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a method for easily and neatly replacing the grip on a gold club.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a method for removing a grip from a golf club and replacing it with a new grip of another type without damaging either grip.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a tool system for neatly removing an old grip from a golf club and inserting the shaft into a new grip.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tool for easily removing a grip from a golf club without damaging it by tearing it or making holes.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a tool for inserting a golf club shaft into a new grip.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a tool for assisting in the insertion of a shaft into a golf club grip, which tool is simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture, and which is capable of a long life of useful service.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.